In modern offices it is common to divide a large, open area into individual or group work spaces through the use of portable panels of various heights. The portable panels cost less than permanent floor to ceiling walls and usually can be disassembled and used again to reconfigure the work space as needs change without having to undertake the expense of knocking down and reconstructing permanent walls. The portable panels usually are constructed with flat or curved panel members composed of acoustical material or glass surrounded by a perimeter frame of metal or wood. Typically, the individual panels are connected together in edge to edge relationship to form a continuous wall or a corner joint.
In one common connection system, one side edge of a panel is constructed with male connection members which engage within female connection portions formed in the mating side edge of the adjacent panel. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,732,044, 4,223,500, and 4,360,553 disclose various male/female connection arrangements. A very significant drawback of this type of panel connection system is that in order to be interconnected together, the panels must always be disposed in the same relative relationship to each other, i.e., they cannot be rotated about a vertical axis and then reconnected to adjacent panels. This limits the flexibility of the panels, especially when desiring to reconfigure work spaces.
In another type of wall panel construction, mating clips must be mounted on the side edges of the wall panels using screws or other types of fasteners. This significantly increases the time required to install the panels. An example of this type of wall panel construction is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,936.
In a further type of wall panel connection system, a separate column standard is interposed between the facing side edges of adjacent wall panels. Male hook members are mounted on the edges of the side panels to engage with the column standard. An example of this type of wall panel construction is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,692. The column standards constitute additional components that must be fabricated and inventoried. A further drawback of this particular type of wall panel construction, and also of each of the foregoing types of wall panel constructions, is that adjacent wall panels cannot be flipped about a horizontal axis and then reconnected together, thus restricting the flexibility of the panels.
Most modern wall panel systems are, in theory, designed to support shelves, countertops, desktops and other work surfaces which are mounted on the wall panels in cantilever fashion. Thus, the panels must be capable of safely carrying significant loads and also must not flex or bow during use. With the exception of the wall system disclosed in the '044 patent, none of the above referenced wall systems employ any specific arrangement for insuring that adjacent wall panels are securely connected to the other to form a rigid construction. In the '044 patent, bolts must be installed to lock adjacent wall panels in interconnected relationship. Use of such bolts significantly increases the time needed to install the wall panels and also the time required to dissemble the wall panels when desiring to reconfigure the workspace.
As noted above, the individual wall panels are usually constructed with a perimeter frame which extends around the sides, top and bottom edges of acoustical or glass panel members. Typically, the perimeter frame is composed of tubular members interconnected at their ends by corner connectors that engage within the hollow interiors of the tubular members. The corner connectors often include leg sections which are inserted into the adjacent ends of the frame tubes. In order to achieve satisfactory structural integrity, it is very important that the corner connectors snugly fit within the tubes and also remain locked in place. In an effort to meet these requirements, typical corner connectors include flexible fingers or barbs that extend outwardly from the connector legs in the direction away from the free ends of the corner connector so that when the corner connectors are inserted into the hollow ends of the frame tubes, the fingers or barbs flex downwardly to enable the corner connectors to be assembled. However, once assembled, the outer edges of the barbs bear tightly against or even perhaps "bite into," the inside surface of the frame tubes to prevent the corner connectors from dissembling from the frame tubes. Examples of this type of construction are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,105,348 and 4,683,634. A common drawback of this type of corner connector is that the fingers or barbs are flexible and thus do not adequately restrain angular movement between the corner connectors and the frame tubes. Also, the corner connectors cannot be dissembled from the frame tubes without damaging or even destroying the connectors and/or the frame tubes when desiring to modify the wall panel, for instance, to change the size of the panel.